many of the area has memories of irene on their minds. irene caused billions of dollars of damage. already people here are getting ready for what some are calling the perfect storm. one saw homeowner sandbagging his home yesterday. this is the calm before the storm which is why experts say it is time to get yourself a disaster preparation kit. make sure you have bottled water, batteries and plenty of food on hand in case the storm does the damage it is expected to do. we are live in belmar, new jersey robert moses, fox news. >>> robert, thank you so much. >>> the fiscal cliff is still too much off but the tax hikes and spending cuts already hampering our economy. diane mess is heis here. >> the fiscal cliff may not have hit left but it is already hampering growth in the u.s. economy wiping out nearly 1 million jobs so far this year. the report goes on to forecast if congress fails to avert the cliff 6 million jobs will be lost before 2014 sending the unemployment rate up to 12 percent. part of the problem is the anticipation of the cliff. we are looking at 100 billion automatic cut